Caddis Partners makes massive move into senior living development

Caddis Partners LLC, a Dallas-based healthcare real estate development firm, has embarked on a major play, planning to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in developing senior living communities within the next two years.

The developer has built a number of medical office building in North Texas, but there's been a growing demand for quality senior living communities. That demand has Caddis Partners ready to spend hundreds of millions in the southwest U.S. to develop these facilities, CEO and Partner Jason Signor exclusively told the Dallas Business Journal.

"We are big believers in this sector after looking at senior housing and saw there hasn't been a bunch of product delivered for a variety of reasons, especially not high-quality housing," Signor told me.

Last year, Caddis Partners sold a large portfolio of property for more than $100 million. That capital is being used to redeploy in the senior living sector through the firm's newly minted Heartis senior living brand.

The first Heartis community -- a 96-bed assisted living and memory care facility -- is scheduled for development in the Johnson County city of Cleburne, which is southwest of Fort Worth. Construction recently began on the 61,125-square-foot community, which includes 54 assisted living units and a dedicated 35-bed memory care unit.

The 15-acre community at 902 Walter P. Holliday Drive is designed to include three interior courtyards and feature Class A finishes throughout the living units. The project is scheduled for completion in summer 2014.

The Heartis communities will be managed by Eugene, Ore.-based Good Neighbor Care. Katus is the project architect. MAPP Construction and Amegy Bank is also working on the project.

Caddis Partners plans to develop eight to 10 facilities each year in the southwest U.S. The firm is currently looking at possible development sites in Houston, Austin and North Texas.